It’s hard to know when to quit, particularly when it comes to your own job. Employees used to stay with their employers for the length of their careers. However, in today’s modern work environment this is rare. But if everyone quit their job the minute they got frustrated or felt stuck, no one would stay in one job for long. Even if you really hate your job, think about whether there are benefits to sticking around a little longer.

Here are a few reasons why you might want to wait before giving up on a job.

Learning opportunities

It’s not fun, but working in a job you dislike gives you a lot of learning opportunities. This is where you will really push yourself and start to understand what type of job or role you would like in the long run.  You can’t meaningfully move forward if all you’re doing is running from what you don’t want. That just leads to hopping from one job to another without any real idea of what you’re doing, what you want to be doing, or even who you are. That personal growth is hard. It requires struggle, and frustration. But the only way through it sometimes is to keep going. You’ll learn more about your strengths, your interests, and your passion by sticking things out for the long term.

Maintain and build relationships

The downside of quitting a job is you may hurt relationships with co-workers and employers if you don’t do so properly. Timing is a big factor in taking a graceful exit. Helping your team prepare for and plan the transition can go a long way towards maintaining positive relationships. They will be important to your professional network in years to come. If you jump ship at the wrong time, you could really be letting a lot of people down. That shouldn’t determine whether you should quit, but it might play an important part in deciding when to quit.

Explore an internal move

If you feel you are not being adequately challenged in your current situation, consider talking to your boss about a departmental shift. However, before you do that, make sure you understand how the department you want to move to operates and if you will be challenged there too. It must be a department you are prepared to succeed in and have the skills needed to contribute within. That means preparing accordingly before making the leap.

Alternatively, talk to your manager about what it would take for you to get a promotion; ideally one that will give you more responsibilities and challenges that engage you. If you are dedicated to your work and have been advancing within your role, this is a perfectly reasonable request. This helps you broach the issue of your dissatisfaction with your role in a way where you don’t have to leave the company.

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For more tips to help you get ahead in the agriculture industry, connect with the Ag 1 Source team of industry specialized recruiters today or check out our current openings.